Dustbunny's Bubbles LLC - Blog

I Love to Paint

5/22/2021

I bet you didn't know that! It's true though.

I'll let you in on a little secret... painting is my true happy place. I love everything I do, but painting lets me find my highest state of peace. I don't do it anywhere near enough. I'm going to have to remedy that.

Why am I sharing? Because I'm afraid to... I typically don't put much faith in my paintings but something today is telling me to stop that.

So I'm going to share a few pieces with you. Both oil and watercolor. Now granted I have a lot more that I don't have pictures of but that's ok. I'm doing this because my intuition told me to.

Card of the Week: May 9th - 15th

5/9/2021

Knight of Swords - Reversed

The reversed Knight warns us against making hasty decisions. Think before you act this week. If you feel a little confused and like you just cant get it together, take a deep breath and try again.

Card of the Week: Feb 1st - Feb 6th

2/1/2021

3 of Cups Reversed

This is a good week to self reflect. Take some time to mentally chill. Don't despair if your plans get cancelled or you feel a little put off from your usual social life. Sometimes you just need a break from the drama swirling around. If you're feeling secluded then reach out to a friend for support. Take a deep breath and try getting back out into the world.

Card of the Week: Dec 20th - 26th

12/20/2020

The Moon

The Moon, this week, reminds us to stop and think before we speak or react. Tensions often run high around Christmas. For some this holiday is joyous... for others it's full of stress and anxiety. This holiday season is most likely going to be more filled with anxiety than past years. If you're not impacted in this way, that's wonderful! But be mindful of those who are. Those who are struggling to make ends meet. Those who can't be with their loved ones because of the C word. Those who have lost everything this year... If conflict ensues at your dinner table, take a deep breath and step back. Try not to get involved or fuel the conflict.

Card of the Week: Dec 13th - Dec 19th

12/13/2020

VII of Wands Reversed

This week may feel a little overwhelming. Why wouldn't it? Christmas is coming up, a virus is probably putting a kink in your plans and everyone is just about done with this year. You've been doing your best and now the end is in sight, but it also feels like shit's hitting the fan. If you feel like giving up, try not to. You're going to get through this.

Card of the Week: Dec 6th - Dec 12th

12/6/2020

Five of Cups + The Emporer

This week may feel like one disappointment after another. While it may seem like the sadness is overwhelming, try to see the bright side this week. The Five of Cups shows us this sadness, but it also shows us hope. Three of his cups have fallen over, but two remain standing! There may be a river in his path, but if he would only look to his right, he'd see a bridge.
Stand up tall and do what you need to do to accomplish the task at hand.
You may need to open up communications with an authority figure, or become the leader yourself and lead by example.

Card of the Week: Nov 29th - Dec 5th

11/29/2020

Death

Contrary to his name, Death doesn't mean someone is going to die. It means it's a good week to make a change. Let a bad habit die. Let a bad relationship go. Let a bad endeavor come to an end. Let self doubt and beating yourself up over something stop. Death means change. Endings and beginnings. Change and transformation. Begin the transition to a better you and the life you're looking for.

Card of the Week: Nov 22nd - Nov 28th

11/22/2020

Knight of Cups

This is a good week to be courteous and creative. If the Knight has nothing good to say, he says nothing. This could be something to keep in mind as we do our best to celebrate a bit of a backwards Thanksgiving. Give thanks, not attitude. Creativity can even be coming up with different topics of discussion around the dinner table to keep everyone in a positive state of mind. If you've decided not to celebrate and you're down then perhaps being creative means finding a way to enjoy your holiday even though you may be on your own. People love you even when you're not present.

Card of the Week: Nov 15th - 21st

11/15/2020

IV of Pentacles

Protect yourself this week. Protect your emotional and physical self. Emotions are still running high so keep a level head and surround yourself by things, places and people that bring you peace. Stability is key this week so check your finances and work on that financial stability as well. Budget accordingly!

Lye Free Soap is a Lie

11/10/2020

Yup... It's true. Now let's talk about it. Briefly.

What is soap?
Soap is made through an exothermic (releases heat) reaction called saponification. During this reaction, fats and oils are "saponified" or quite literally "turned into soap". Typically you don't want to use the word in it's definition but that's exactly what it means. Saponification means "to saponify", or, turn into soap. As the fats and oils saponify they get harder, creating the magnificent block of goodness we use to cleanse our skin of the nasty stuff it collects from everyday life and the environment around us.

In short... bar soap is a hard block of fats and oils.

What is lye?
Lye is an alkaline (very high pH) metal hydroxide originally derived from wood ashes. The process has become more refined and now is done by breaking down a salt water solution into different compounds. This "new" process is called the "chloralkali process". Lye most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide makes bar soap, while potassium hydroxide makes liquid soap. Both are dangerous.

In short... sodium hydroxide lye is a caustic substance that makes a hard block of fats and oils. You cannot harden the fats and oils into soap without lye to cause the reaction.

When someone says you can make soap without lye by doing "melt and pour".... that's not lye free soap. Melt and pour soap is regular soap where the lye process has already been done for you. Let's say that again! It's not "lye free soap". It's soap that's been pre-made for you by professionals so you can color it, shape it and fragrance it without the fear of dealing with the lye.

So when some people say "lye free", what they really mean is "pre-made". This is not a discredit to melt and pour soapers! There's some very talented melt and pour artists. I love melt and pour as well! It just doesn't change the fact that sodium hydroxide is still on the ingredient list.

If someone is claiming that their soap is "lye free!" they are flat out LYing to you (Ha! That wasn't intentional, it just worked out that way).

Stay curious!